People have enjoyed automobiles for nearly a century, and many people feel that their automobile is an extension of their own personality. A primary factor for most people in considering which automobile to purchase is styling and aesthetics. The demand for improved styling has fueled the development of entire industries devoted to aftermarket automobile accessories.
Among the most common way to "accessorize" an automobile is to swap the wheels provided from the manufacture with "styled" wheels. The designs of these styled wheels include a variety of different forged and cast shapes, as well as the classic spoked wheel. Although there are many wheel choices available in today's market, no one has introduced a commercially successful system for lighting a wheel.
Moreover, ever since the introduction of the automobile there have been automobile accidents. Many accidents are caused when the driver of one vehicle fails to see the other vehicle due to restricted visibility caused by inclement weather or lighting conditions. This is particularly problematic at intersections where one auto approaches another from the side.
Auto manufacturers currently rely on passive reflectors to make vehicles more visible from the side. Typically, governmental regulations require that these reflectors be red or yellow. Reflectors merely reflect any light directed at them and do not actively project light. As a result, in the dark a vehicle having side reflectors goes undetected until the headlights of an approaching vehicle strikes the reflectors. In many instances, light may not strike the reflectors until it is too late to avoid a collision.
A proposed solution is to provide lights on the side of the vehicle. While some vehicles are provided with parking lights, this remedy is useless while the vehicle is in motion because the parking lights generally serve as turn-signal lights while the vehicle is driven.
Another proposed solution is to attach lights to the wheels of the vehicle. Several patents have issued concerning automobile wheels with lights. One such invention is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,763,230, which issued to Cummings and Rose on Aug. 9, 1988. The Cummings' et al. invention provides a plurality of light members in a string. The string of lights is interleafed between the spokes of a wheel. The string of lights is powered by a battery source.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,121,305 discloses a lighted wheel comprising a plurality of light emitting diodes connected in parallel and contained in a flexible, transparent tube. The light emitting diodes are powered by a battery power source preferably connected to the wheel. The apparatus is designed to be preferably used with spoked wheels. The primary purpose of this apparatus is for safety purposes and preferably is used with bicycle, scooters, etc.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,363,085 discloses a wheel marker for an automobile wheel. The wheel marker extends radially from the wheel hub, and comprises a light-emitting section that includes a light emitting-element such as an electroluminescence element or a light emitting diode. The light-emitting element is powered by a battery or solar cell, and can be automatically turned on and off using a brightness detecting sensor.
One problem with the wheel lights described above is that they lack aesthetic appeal. Many, if not most, car owners are particular about how their car looks. The foregoing lighted wheels may not have reached significant commercial success because they look like what the are: lights or lighted elements that are attached to wheels that were not designed to have lights applied to them.